Yale University is on lockdown after a 911 caller told police Monday his roommate was headed to the university campus with a gun to "shoot people," authorities said.
At 10:17 a.m. Eastern time,
Yale University posted information on its website about the incident and advised anyone on campus to shelter in place.
Those warnings continued for the next few hours, with a warning at 11:57 a.m. saying, "There are confirmed reports of a person with a gun on campus on the Old Campus. The shelter-in-place/lockdown continues. Teams from Yale Police, New Haven and the State Police are on the scene and are actively searching for any gunman. THIS IS NOT A TEST. Call 911 with any information."
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An update at 1:45 p.m. from the Connecticut school said police were being cautious and searching room-to-room in the residential areas, and continued the shelter-in-place warnings.
It's a holiday break on campus, and students began their Thanksgiving week off on Saturday. Police officials told the newspaper that it would be much more challenging to search the campus if classes were in session.
David Hartman, an officer with the New Haven Police Department, said at a media briefing that the 911 call lasted a few seconds and that witnesses said they'd seen a man on campus with a gun, which could be a rifle or shotgun.
"We rely heavily on what witnesses are telling us,"
Hartman said, according to the New York Daily News.
As police swarmed the campus Monday morning, students and others took to social media to share pictures.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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